‘Resident Alien’ Drama Based On Dark Horse Comics Series Gets Syfy Pilot Order

Syfy has made its first pilot order off its 2018 development slate with Resident Alien, a drama based on the Dark Horse comics series by Peter Horgan and Steve Parkhouse, from Universal Cable Productions, Dark Horse Entertainment and Amblin TV.

Resident Alien is described as a dark, twisted and comedic fish-out-of-water story. Adapted for television by Chris Sheridan (Family Guy), it follows a crash-landed alien named Harry who, after taking on the identity of a small-town Colorado doctor, slowly begins to wrestle with the moral dilemma of his secret mission on Earth — ultimately asking the question, “Are human beings worth saving?”

Sheridan will executive produce with Dark Horse Entertainment’s Mike Richardson (The Mask) and Keith Goldberg (The Legend of Tarzan), along with Justin Falvey (The Americans) and Darryl Frank (The Americans) of Amblin TV. Universal Cable Productions is producing as part of its first-look deal with Dark Horse Entertainment to develop and produce scripted programming from publisher’s comic book library, as well as create new original material.

The pilot order follows Syfy’s recent cancellation of sci-fi drama The Expanse, currently in its third and final season, which was subsequently picked up by Amazon. Syfy recently picked up two high-profile projects to series, Deadly Class, based on the Image Comics graphic novel of the same name, and Nightflyers, a space-based thriller based on author George R.R. Martin’s novella. They join Syfy’s existing original series, Kryton, Happy!, The Magicians, Channel Zero, Killjoys, 12 Monkeys and Face Off. The network also has co-produced series and movies Wynonna Earp, Z Nation, Van Helsing and Sharknado. Syfy also is developing several major genre projects as part of its 2018 slate, including Brave New World, The Raven Cycle and Hyperion.